Scottish football fans were treated to a spectacle after an AI tracking camera followed a bald referee’s head for most of the game.
Football fans are very much on the fence when it comes to the introduction of technology into their game. In fact, there are flurries of tweets every week bashing the video assistant referee. Let’s face it, technology is taking over sport and we can’t stop it.
Scottish football team Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC lent head-first into this ideology when they announced they would be removing human camera operators, opting for AI-controlled cameras instead. Let’s just say that this decision didn’t go as planned…
The Pixellot system was said to use built-in technology to track the movements of the ball and broadcast this footage directly to homes. However, the AI obviously hadn’t been exposed to one potentially harmful element: a bald referee.
Ready to watch their team face Ayr United, supporters were treated to an absolute spectacle as hilarity ensued.
The A.I. camera followed the follicly-challenged man for much of the game, repeatedly moving back and forth between ball and head. At times, the camera even focused solely on this poor man’s hairless head.
If the highlights package is anything to go off, you’d have to wonder why some fans complained about missing their team’s performance. In my opinion, the A.I. coverage vastly improved the viewing experience.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle don’t employ a cameraman as their camera is programmed to follow the ball throughout the match. The commentator had to apologise today as the camera kept on mistaking the ball for the linesman’s head… pic.twitter.com/LeKsc2bEj7
— Tom Cox (@seagull81) October 24, 2020
I wouldn’t blame the camera completely, the assistant referee’s bald head was largely fascinating. Perhaps next time he should consider wearing a hat next time?
It’s fair to say, some jobs should probably be left to the humans.
